BOSTON — Wouldn’t it be fitting if the Red Sox met Terry Francona‘s Cleveland Indians in the ALDS?
Red Sox manager John Farrell reiterated Wednesday that his club is trying to take care of its own business, but he also admitted that a potential matchup with his long-time buddy has crossed his mind.
“Yeah, there’d be a lot of stories to all of it if that’s the way it works out,” Farrell said before Wednesday’s game against the Orioles. “Because we’re in it, because we’re fans of the game, yeah, we pay attention. But hell, we’ve got stuff to take care of ourselves.”
The Red Sox failed to clinch a playoff spot Wednesday, but they could punch their ticket to the postseason as soon as Thursday and clinch the AL East crown as soon as Friday. There’s a good chance that Boston, which currently owns the best record in baseball, could then lock up home-field advantage throughout the postseason, and a first-round matchup with Cleveland is a realistic possibility.
The Indians are very much in the thick of things in the AL wild card race. Cleveland’s success this season has come as somewhat of a surprise, although Farrell had confidence all along that Francona would get the job done.
“They’ll run through a wall for him,” Farrell said. “It’s not surprising that even when they’ve had some injuries, whether it’s to [Justin] Masterson or some other guys, guys are stepping up. It’s kind of characteristic of his teams.”
The Red Sox and Indians would certainly create an interesting first-round matchup. The Indians might be willing to run through a wall for Francona, but the Red Sox appear willing to do the same for their skipper.
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